How the Time of the Writer Festival is taking the stories to the people

One of the most fundamental parts of literature is the ability to dismantle barriers and connect people. Through reading, you’re able to put yourself in other people’s shoes and empathise with events and circumstances outside yourself. With the state of the world at the moment, it is most imperative that we remind ourselves of these ideals, to return to each other so we can make sense of what is happening together and to remind each other that we’re still here.

Institutions like the Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) are one of many who seek to do that. The 29th edition of the Time of the Writer Festival, presented by the CCA at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, is bringing book lovers and creatives something more than just book launches and talks, it seeks to break boundaries and bring people together in a common goal of using art and literature to amplify voices and challenge notions of power. Under multi-award-winning author and sociologist Shafinaaz Hassim’s curatorial vision, the festival is leaning into a hybrid model to ensure that South African stories and experiences reach a wider audience while deeply rooting themselves in local communities.

“I am excited about this year because the structure has changed,” Hassim begins. “Instead of a single-week festival, we have three concurrent programs running from the 23rd to the 29th. We have the online festival, with a range of conversations around AI, lived experience, and memoir, and an Afrikaans panel.” An exciting addition to this year’s edition is the inaugural Children’s Festival from the 23rd to the 26th.

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With her experience of almost 20 years in the industry, Hassim’s dedication to writing for women and championing emerging writers is echoed in how she is taking authors to the children at art centres like the Luthuli Museum and city libraries, ensuring that their young minds are engaged with intention. “Our festival programme is curated to reach audiences far and wide by taking uniquely South African stories and experiences to the world,” Hassim explains. This digital pivot is not just about convenience; it is also about accessibility and overcoming funding and geographical limitations.

A cornerstone of this virtual expansion is the inclusion of acclaimed author Zakes Mda. Recently part of alandmark US class-action lawsuitagainst the unauthorised use of books to train AI, the author headlines an online panel discussing the implications of artificial intelligence on intellectual property. The hybrid model is important in bringing people together, but it is the festival’s commitment to stories rooted in lived experiences, memories, and activism that ensure it stays true to its patrons.

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